The First Chinese man in Space Yang Liwei

In October 2003, PR China has become the third country in history that has managed to send a man into space. For now, a total of only three countries to have ever succeeded (USA, USSR / Russia and China) and PR China belongs to a very elite circle.

The mission was launched on 16 October was called Shenzhou 5, a rocket that lifted the spacecraft into orbit belonged to the type Long March 2F (Changzheng 2F). Of course, this type of missile is named after the communist long march from the 1930s under the leadership of Mao Zedong.

Chinese astronaut who flew on 16 October in the universe is called Yang Liwei. Then he held the rank of lieutenant colonel, and later became even Major General. At the time of the first flight he was 38 years old.

In orbit, Yang Liwei 14 times circled Earth, and all within 21 hours, 22 minutes and 45 seconds. He was orbiting around our planet at an altitude between 332 and 336 kilometers (called low Earth orbit).

The launch was carried out from China’s Jiuquan launch site in the Gobi Desert. People’s Republic of China has more than three space launch center in other locations – one on the island of Hainan in the South China Sea, one in Sichuan Province (southwestern China) and one in Shanxi Province (northern China).